FDA may allow Dairy industry to add artificial sweeteners to milk

and here's the kicker, they want to add it without putting it on the label! This is atrocious and dangerous. We deserve a right as consumers to know what is in the products we are purchasing. :mad

Submit a comment (if you wish) and tell them not to allow this change, this is NOT ok!

Link Here

 

Looks like it is only for certain milk products and not plain milk itself. They also want to remove reduced calorie labeling and such types.

However, don't those products (lets take chocolate milk as an example) still have a list of ingredients? I don't see that they are requesting the right to remove that.

 

It's my understanding, in reading this, that it's milk & those other products.

Yes, they have the list of ingredients and no they aren't trying to remove that. What they are trying to do, if it passes, is HIDE the fact that they are using a artificial sweetener instead of say high fructose corn syrup by NOT putting it on the label, their excuse is "it makes it less appealing to children" rolleyes

Subjecting children to this (milk riddled with artificial sweeteners) unknowingly is a huge travesty. Since when is putting processed chemicals into a child's body a good thing? It's a rather ridiculous statement to make that "children are turned off by "low fat" or "less sugar" labels." They are not, they could care less as most children don't even read labels, especially if we are talking about young grade school children.

It a consumers right to know what is being put into the goods they are purchasing. If these sweeteners are not listed on these products, how is that be fair and honest to the consumer? People should have every right and option what to spend their money on. If they do not want to purchase a product that contains a certain ingredient, whether because they are allergic or because they just don't like it, it's totally their prerogative. Hiding these sweeteners can cause dangerous, possibly deadly, effects on people allergic to said sweeteners. It's also been shown through research that the effects of artificial sweeteners over time have awful effects on the body.

It's a shady, underhanded move if you ask me to try to hide the fact that they want to put it in milk and to do it for "health" reasons. rolleyes

 

The thing is, they are already putting artificial crap into that kind of milk.

It is processed sugar that they add, they add preservatives (and probably more). I am sorry, but chocolate milk should not have a shelf life of months and yet it does.

I agree with you on not removing those labels, but I am at odds with the idea that current milk products are all natural.

From what the link you posted showed, it doesn't effect regular milk.

 

Yes, but they list what kind of crap they put into milk now. :-D

I, personally, don't think chocolate/flavored milk is beneficial to anyone (especially children and I really don't think it should be served in schools) sure it's tasty but it's about as nutritional as a bowl full of sugar. What creeped me out the other day while at the supermarket was, right in front, as you walk in, was a HUGE display of Nesquick chocolate milk ...unrefrigerated. I though that perhaps it was on ice but nope just in a big crate. I could only imagine what types of preservatives they had used to create such a product.

As for milk not being "whole" milk, I kind of agree but I'm very sensitive to products that contain artificial sweeteners/HFCS, so I'm fairly certain I'd know if it was in that product.

As for it not including regular milk, if you look at my first quote (second post), milk is the initial thing listed, then they go on and list the other 17 products but for clarification, if you click the first link in the beginning of the petition for 21 CFR part 131 you can clearly see that milk is listed as number one under subpart B.

 

It is full of verbal dancing, and not being terribly specific. I think what you will find though is that they will not treat whole milk. In fact, they cannot legally without announcing it

The first diabetic to die from drinking too much milk will cause a hellstorm of biblical proportions. That is why (specialty milk aside), they don't add sugar (afaik).

As it stands now, the sugar in regular milk right now is lactose, and naturally occurring.


The ruling would affect things such as lactose-free milk, where they add other sweeteners.

 

Exactly, which is why they are petitioning the FDA to have the rules changed.

Whether it actually includes whole milk or not (I think it does), it's a dangerous slope. Putting chemicals (especially something as controversial as Aspartame) in any product with out the consumer knowledge is just asking for a lawsuit, IMO.

 

But is it really without consumer knowledge? They still list ingredients.

I don't think this petition will ever make it , FWIW. If it does, it will be overturned quickly.